Longer than a drabble, shorter than than a full fic. A ficlet? Sure, we'll go with that. :)

PROMPT: Post 4.01 with Artie setting up a date for Myka and Hg who are still dancing around things. I could see him being a big old softie on the subject after seeing what HG did for them.

Enjoy!

Artie wasn't blind. He may be a bit dense or unwilling to admit what he saw at times. But he wasn't blind. Before the Yellowstone incident, he'd seen the sly glances and "accidentally-on-purpose" touches. He'd felt the tension. He'd ignored it, yes. Pretended it wasn't there, of course. But he had felt it.

Then afterwards, he'd seen Myka's melancholy, her longing for the person she'd thought HG—Helena—had been. At the time, Artie was conflicted—he felt empathy because love, or whatever it was, sucked, but at the same time, he had tried to warn her…

Now, empathy won over as he watched the two women interact, discussing a possible ping. Helena had been reinstated as an agent several week prior. And the dance had begun. The sly (not-so-sly) looks. The "accidentally-on-purpose" touches. The tension. It was all there. But he also noticed Myka's hesitation. Yes, he was more observant than the others gave him credit for. Leena had rubbed off on him over the past several years. So, he noticed Myka's conflicted expressions, wanting to give into her obvious feelings for the 19th century woman, but wanting to keep her distance because, well, she had no idea what Helena had done for them. For her. No one knew. No one but Artie.

Over the last three and a half years, Artie had seen Myka grow in so many ways. Though he'd never admit it aloud because it would make him feel old, he had fatherly emotions towards her. He never had kids of his own. These were his kids—Claudia, Myka, and Pete. They were his family.

So he wanted to see Myka happy. Really and truly happy. Not just, I-love-my-job-and-the-people-around-me happy. But I'm-so-incredibly-in-love happy. He knew she could have that with Helena. But she was cautious because, well, who wouldn't be? She didn't know what he knew. He knew of Helena's sacrifice. She didn't.

Before the sacrifice that had only happened in Artie's past, he would have been completely against Myka and Helena getting together. He would have made his dislike of the idea known. He wasn't usually subtle about things like that. Point in case, his original opinion of Helena, when she'd first joined the warehouse the first time. He knew he'd surprised everyone with his defense of Helena and insistence that the Regents allow her to return. Helena had been the most surprised.

He watched closely as Helena reached for a pen to make a note, causing her to lean into Myka's side. The look on Myka's face said it all. The longing, followed by the doubt, spurred Artie into action. He had to do something about this.

"I think Myka and Helena should take this one," he said. He wasn't entirely sure there was an artifact at play, but the weirdness was occurring at a beach resort in Maui.

"Ah, man!" Pete exclaimed, his hopes at heading to the beach where he could ogle bikini-clad women suddenly dashed.

Claudia pouted. "But it's Maui, dude! Can't we all go?"

Artie glared at them. "Myka and Helena will take this one," he forced out again, his voice letting them know there would be no discussion.

Myka studied the page in front of her once more. "Are you sure this is one of ours?"

"Better safe than sorry," Artie said, then quickly rushed on. "You two go now. I'll have plane tickets waiting for you at the airport and your hotel accommodations will be ready by the time you land in Maui." Oh, yes, he did believe he would "accidentally" book them a room with a single bed. That should do it. If not, he'd have to enlist Leena's help when they returned. Though, looking at their expressions, he didn't think he'd have to worry about that.

From across the room, Leena caught Artie's eye as the two women left through the umbilicus. Leena's eyebrow was raised in amusement. Oh, she knew exactly, what Artie was up to. And she approved.